Buffy slept through much of the day and into the night. Spike woke her up in separate intervals to make sure she was okay and give her some blood. She was exhausted after being kidnapped, fighting, and getting injured, but she was strong. Spike stayed in the room with her while Willow and Cordy brought them blood. Now, as he lay next to her, he watched her begin to stir from her sleep before slowly opening her eyes. “Hey there, sleepy head,” he said softly.
“Hey,” Buffy replied in a hoarse voice.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I had my throat slit.”
Smiling at her mild attempt at humor, he pulled her closer. “You’re going to be fine. The wound’s already closed.”
“Compliments of the Slayer/vampire healing package. Super-speedy recovery time.”
“Yeah,” he mumbled, gently brushing the hair away from her face. “It’s over. Nothing to worry about anymore.”
“There’s always something to worry about,” Buffy said with a sigh. “But at least Cassidy’s out of the way.”
“And we’re together.”
“And we’re together,” she repeated with a smile.
“So what now, baby? Move back into your place?”
“You want to live with me?”
“Well…I’ve thought about it…and considering I’m stuck with you for eternity, I figured we might as well learn to live in the same place-”
Feeling Buffy’s lips assaulting his, he eagerly wrapped his arms around her small waist. Pulling her closer as they devoured each other, Spike suddenly realized that what they were doing wouldn’t be beneficial to her healing, hesitantly pulling away a moment later. Tenderly tucking a long strand of hair behind Buffy’s ear, he pressed another tender kiss to her forehead. “I’m here, baby. For the long haul. I’m not leaving, and I’m not letting you leave again.”
“Good to know,” she said softly. “So what’s the final verdict? Did you kill her?”
“You know it, love,” he said with a smile.
“Everyone’s okay?” she asked. “Everyone got out alright?”
“Yep, all safe and accounted for. Willow’s hanging around for a couple of days. Cordy and the poof-”
“Angel,” Buffy corrected with a smile.
“Right…him…they’re heading back to Los Angeles in a few days. They wanted to make sure you’re okay. Oh, and you wanna know the weird thing? Gunn and Fred are going with them.”
“What?”
“Yeah, apparently the…Angel…was impressed with Gunn’s fighting the other night and offered him a job in the agency.”
“How does Fred fit in?”
“She’s the brains. Works out prophecies, does some research, things that are right up her alley.”
“But what about her helping out Wesley?”
“Wesley’s not a Watcher anymore, pet,” Spike replied. “A new Slayer is being tracked down, and Wes is technically retired. He’s still got the store.”
“But they’re your friends, Spike. Won’t you miss them?”
Spike shrugged. “Sure I’ll miss them, but I’ll have you.” Buffy giggled when he pulled her into his lap. “Besides, they’ll only be two hours and a freeway away.”
“That’s true,” she said with a smile as he kissed her neck.
At the knock on the door, both turned to see the entire group standing in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt,” Angel said.
Buffy smiled at her friends. “Hey, guys. Sorry I’ve been so out of it.”
“Well, I think we can forgive you, what with having your throat cut and all,” Fred replied with a smile.
“We have some more news on Cassidy,” Wesley said.
Buffy and Spike both froze. “But she’s dead. I staked her myself,” Spike said, staring at the older man.
“Yes, but I’m talking about her,” Wesley replied as he handed a file to the couple. Buffy and Spike flipped through it as Wesley continued, “Her name’s not even Cassidy. It was changed when she was turned, much like Angel’s was. Her real name was Rose, and she was the typical vampire until she was captured by the Council. Unfortunately, they were not the only ones to do the studying- Cassidy studied them as well. She learned a lot of tricks of the trade while she was imprisoned, including the magic she would need to perform to put someone under a mild thrall. Since she only tested this when she escaped, Spike was her next target.”
“But since she was an amateur, she was never able to build the advanced skills to completely entrance him,” Buffy said with a nod of understanding.
Spike glared at her. “I already told you that’s what happened.”
“I know,” she said with a smile. “But it’s nice to hear if from a different source, that’s all.”
“Anyway,” Wesley continued. “Before she got to Sunnydale, she used another trick she picked up, which was to perform a glamour and appear as Spike’s true love.”
“The doppelganger effect,” Buffy said with a smile to Spike. “That means, it’s me! I’m your true love.”
“You just now figuring this out?” he asked with an amused look. Buffy silenced him with a quick kiss.
“And because glamour’s are easy to perform, she was able to keep the spell going with a simple charm,” Willow broke in. “When the charm breaks, she would have returned to her natural looks. Which explains why she never appeared as herself, because the charms are hard to come by.”
“But after she knew we were looking for her, why would she still be walking around looking like me?” Buffy asked.
“Guess she wanted you to find her,” Spike said.
“Well, that’s not too bright,” she mumbled.
“No one ever said she was bright, love.”
“So that’s it?” Buffy asked. “A few magic tricks, a few lies, and her vampire minions, and that was her big plan?”
“Apparently,” Wesley said. “She was probably planning on returning to England and killing off members of the Council, but she never got that far.”
“How did you find this, Wes?” she asked, referring to the file of information in her hand. “Did the Council actually get off their butts and help you for once?”
“No, Mr. Giles was kind enough to do a little digging for us. He heard you might be in danger and was more than happy to lend his services.”
Buffy smiled. “That’s Giles alright. Always comes through.”
“Well, we’ll let you get some more rest,” Wesley said as he ushered everyone out the door. “We’ll see you when you’re feeling better.”
“Thanks for the help, Wes. Couldn’t have done it without you. Without any of you,” Buffy added as she smiled at her friends.
“Anytime,” Wesley said as he shut the door.
Turning to face her lover, she left a gentle kiss on his lips. “I’m thinking it’s time for a vacation,” she said, pulling away to stare into his deep blue eyes.
“Where to, baby?”
“I don’t know. Nowhere too sunny,” she said with a smile. “I was thinking maybe a trip to England.”
“That can be arranged,” Spike said with a smile before flipping Buffy to land underneath him, smiling at the giggle that erupted from her. Leaning down to leave a searing kiss on her lips, he slowly pulled back to look in her eyes, “You’re mine, Buffy.”
“Yours,” Buffy finally agreed with a smile.